Elevators and Assumptions
by munchkinjenny05
Summary: AU ONESHOT. Quinn POV. Quinn and Rachel meet as strangers stuck in an elevator on New Year's Eve. A faberry re-imagining of Lea Michele's storyline in the movie "New Year's Eve", because how could I not? Spoilers if you haven't seen the film obviously.


"So, what's the plan for tonight then?" I wished I hadn't picked up the phone. Santana always tries to guilt me into doing something epic for New Year's Eve. _I need a new flatmate_ I thought. _Or better yet I should just get my own apartment. _I imagined the Latina scheming through the phone, but nonetheless I uttered my predetermined reply as yet undaunted by whatever charm offensive she had up her sleeve.

"Nothing, same as always." I replied with a sigh, waiting for her to berate me. "I've got today off so I'm just going to hang at the apartment."

"Come on Q, you can't just stay in again. I'm going to come up with something so insane that you won't be able to refuse. I'll call you later." I hung up with a groan.

I'd been pacing the hall to get the best signal strength and it was only now that my attention was drawn to the tacky decorations that littered every surface. Multicoloured streamers tickled the top of my head and I shook them away violently, visualizing the evitable dusting of glitter in my hair. _Enough! I hate this fucking time of year! _Christmas, thanksgiving, those were holidays I could see some point to, but this, I just couldn't understand the appeal. It was just yet more expectations piled on us. _People shouldn't have to tell you when to have fun, or force you to have any. It's a new year, so what? _I ripped down the garlands without a trace of remorse and stuffed them into a bin liner. I felt better at once just knowing they were gone. "You're out of here." I muttered as I dragged them towards the elevator. A happy shudder went through me as I contemplated the dumpster's hungry mouth waiting to receive them.

"Hold the elevator." It was a voice I didn't recognise. I didn't look up, just pressed the button firmly and wrestled with my quarry.

The girl glanced at me; evidently I was quite a sight, wrestling paper chains and streamers, clad in battered converse and pyjama pants. I shrugged. "I took down the decorations." I remarked by way of an explanation.

"Not my decorations." She replied, disinterestedly. I eyed her silently. I'd never seen her before. She must be new to the building.

We rode in companionable quiet for a moment, neither of us feeling the need to exchange pleasantries or even make eye contact. That is, until the elevator decided to die. I dumped the overflowing garbage bag onto the floor and settled in for a long wait. _I should have taken the stairs. _I watched as the girl did all the typical things, checked the phone. _Broken. _Tried her mobile. _No signal. _Before finally attempting to call desperately for help. _The last refuge of a trapped individual. _

"Hello! It's 5B, I'm stuck in here and I'm going to be late for work!" I didn't even bother to go through the motions, I'd been here before. The lift was broken more often than not.

I rolled my eyes. "You really are new. You might as well make yourself comfortable; we are going to be here for a while." I replied, stretching out onto the floor. _Might as well take my own advice._

"I can't be stuck here, I have somewhere to be."

"Not anymore." I retorted. She finally met my eye, remembering that she wasn't alone. I watched as she fiddled with her bracelet nervously, moving it up and down her slender wrist. Sensing her discomfort, I smiled and tried to put her at ease. "You might as well sit down; they'll get to us when they can."

She ignored me and continued to pace, her eyes darting everywhere like a caged animal. "Don't you have somewhere to be? It's New Year's Eve."

I sighed. "So What is New Year's Eve anyway, just an excuse for people who act like Librarians for the rest of the year to try and spend one night out drinking each other and competing over who can be more 'crazy'. It's ridiculous. I'm fed up of being treated like a pariah just because I don't buy into it."

She looked at me in the same way as everyone did at this time of year. That kind of sceptical stare that said, are you serious?I fully expected her to say something like "_do you really hate New Year's or are you just trying to be edgy?"_ Thankfully she didn't, but I'd heard that before. Her eyes told me that she thought I was insane. Just once, I would like to meet somebody who felt like I did. _They're all sheep. _"People have something to be excited about, what's so wrong with that?" She turned away, adding softly "I have something to be excited about."

"Who you're gonna kiss at midnight. Big wow!" I responded scathingly. She threw her hands up in the air in a gesture of defeat and I had to bite my lip to prevent myself laughing. There was something about this girl; I couldn't put my finger on it. We lapsed into silence once more and again she resumed mentally scouring the interior of our prison. My own eyes followed her progress, musing. _You don't give up, do you?_ I was grateful that I always carried my notebook in my back pocket. I focused on that as time ticked away.

"Do you think you could fit through that hatch?" I looked up from my notepaper. I was so absorbed in what I was doing that I'd momentarily forgotten where I was. _What?_ I stood up and inspected the small opening. It was locked. Sensing my unasked question, the girl went to her handbag. "I have a nail file." She clarified. "We could use that to force the lock."

"Even so, I'm not Catwoman." I countered incredulously.

She looked me up and down. "Clearly." I averted my eyes, hoping that she hadn't seen my faint blush. Her smirk implied that she had, but she didn't dwell on it.

"Lift me up." Being in such close proximity to this beautiful stranger didn't help the redness that was creeping up the back of my neck. I was glad that at least the petite brunette was fairly light; I couldn't have her thinking that I wasn't up to the task. She concentrated on the lock, but no matter how hard she tried, it stubbornly held. She sighed exasperatedly. I readjusted her, lifting her higher, careful where I placed my hands. My hands grazed her hips and she didn't blush at all. Instead, she smiled down at me for a moment. In spite of myself I felt my own lips curving into a grin. My heartbeat quickened as her body fell against mine, and I pulled my eyes from her face so that she wouldn't see the lust contained in my hazel orbs. _She's a stranger_ I reminded myself. She turned her attention back to the hatch and I homed in instead on bright laminated card that hung casually around her neck. It was a welcome distraction from my shallow breathing and the warmth of her body against mine. _"Access all areas"_ it loudly declared.

I rolled my eyes. It had been so promising. "You're a groupie?" I blurted out the question before I could stop myself, my voice taking on a more contemptuous edge than I planned. It emphasised to me how little I knew about the girl in front of me and therefore how stupid I was for getting so hot and bothered by this platonic contact.

"Put me down." She sounded angry and hurt by the implication. She moved away to a different corner of the elevator and I cursed my big mouth. _You are such an idiot. _ I had ruined a moment, imagined or otherwise. The tension had shifted; it was now a dark cloud. Even though I wasn't looking at her, I could tell she was scowling at me. A heavy, awkward stillness fell. I turned again to the rapidly filling page in front of me. _Just wait it out. _

Moments passed and I chewed my lip. I could feel her eyes on me. I gave in. "I'm sorry I called you a groupie." She didn't take the bait. I tried again. "We're stuck in an elevator together; you're really not going to talk to me at all?"

"Fine, we can talk." I smiled, relieved. I found that I wanted her to talk to me. Normally I enjoyed solitude but she was just too intriguing. My ghost of a smile vanished as she began to lay into me. "But, as long as we are making assumptions about each other, why don't I give it a shot…" I nodded, urging her to go ahead. I wanted to hear this. She took a deep breath and I waited. "Okay, so, you grew up in suburban fill in the blank, you went to la de da liberal arts school, you didn't have enough drive to get a real job, and then you dyed your hair and you moved to Manhattan on your grandmother's inheritance. Now you think just because you moved somewhere, it makes you cool, but the truth is it doesn't. You're just some wannabe hipster who judges everything, but is too scared to take a chance on anything. My guess is that this hatred of New Year's comes from some boring as hell Prom King who broke your heart in high school, so what, am I close?"

_Wow._ My eyes locked on hers, a smug smirk illuminated her face. "Lima, Ohio, I dropped out of college and I'm a Pianist." I admitted. It felt strange to lay the cards that I normally held so close to my chest out so openly like that, but I figured she deserved her little victory.

"You play?" She asked, seeming genuinely interested in me for the first time.

"I compose." She smiled and I was satisfied that she liked my answer. "Oh, and just so you have the full picture, it was a prom queen, and it was in college when she broke it." Her eyes widened and that felt like a tiny victory of my own, that I had surprised this perceptive stranger. I paused dramatically. "Also, this hairstyle was bloody expensive." I added with a chuckle.

She laughed and passed me a thermos of coffee. I gratefully accepted, we had been trapped for hours. I vaguely wondered how many times Santana had tried to call me, but that idea barely captured my interest. The girl in front of me, how she came to be here, and what slice of life she might be missing, was a much more interesting train of thought. I wanted to ask, but stopped myself, sometimes people aren't eager to volunteer personal information, after all, I hadn't myself been forthcoming. She'd guessed. It was different. I decided to play her at her own game.

"So, you're a big power ballad fan?" I asked, motioning to the pass around her neck. She shrugged and began to sing a few bars of some recognisable song I had heard on the radio. My questioning mouth was stilled. Her voice was out of this world, even in the questionable acoustics of this elevator. I listened utterly captivated. I even clapped unashamedly when it was done. I'd never heard anything like it. I was speechless. I could tell that I'd embarrassed her, so I decided to even the score. In the spirit of sharing I tossed her my open jotter, revealing what I had been working on, a new song for my collection. She smiled as she noted the title scrawled at the top of the page. _5B. _

"Don't you have any other hobbies?" She teased her voice affectionate. I just shrugged. I honestly didn't. This was it. My whole life contained in these pages or identical ones back at the apartment. I could tell she understood. Music was that for her. We had that common link if nothing else. She handed me back the book and our hands touched for a moment. _Don't misinterpret this, _the voice in my head whispered. I listened and pulled back.

More time ticked by and even I began to wish for rescue. Although I had the curious stranger to amuse me I was still getting sick of the tedium of being stuck endlessly in the same small space. I felt restless. There was nothing to do and hours stretched out continuously. The brunette began to rummage through the garbage bag and retrieved the battered paper decorations to adorn every inch of the lift. I think she was doing it not only to elevate her boredom, but also to try and irate me. I just smiled up at her, refusing to let my annoyance show. _Have fun; knock yourself out_ my expression said. I began to doodle by way of not acknowledging her efforts. Once the bag was empty she sunk to the floor.

"We've been stuck in here for hours. I can't believe nobody has found us yet." She lamented. It was clear that she had a lot to learn about this building. I sighed, batting away a low hanging streamer half-heartedly; all the while my gaze was fixed on her, studying the way the light played on the angles of her face. I had my own ways of occupying myself. My doodles had somehow morphed into a semi serious sketch. She appraised it, happy with the depiction.

Suddenly, her voice took on a seductive quality; I was glad that I was sitting down because my knees felt weak. My breath hitched. "We could have our own party." I shook my head. She persevered aware that she had my full attention, my sketching forgotten. . "Oh come on, we've got to get you out of your New Year's Eve funk." I was about to inform her that I was perfectly happy in my present state of mind when she strolled over to me and placed a garish Deely Bopper headband on my mussed blonde hair. I winced, but as she continued I forgot my awkwardness. "We are at a party standing at opposite ends of the room, we've never met. So it begins, you start scanning the room for cute girls amongst the sea of couples…"

I lost myself in the role play. "10, 9, 8, 7…" I breathed, visualising the scene as she described it.

"Finally you see me. Our eyes meet. We smile tentatively at each other." I grinned. I couldn't help it. "Tentatively." She repeated, fighting her own grin. "We start walking towards each other." She moved closer to me.

"6, 5, 4 …" She was just inches away from me now. Never before had I wanted it so much to be midnight.

"Finally we meet just as it's about to be midnight."I leaned in, closing the ever decreasing gap. I breathed in the scent of her, anxious for the sensation of her soft lips brushing against mine, the thrilling feel of a probing tongue. Suddenly, the elevator lurched and I was brought back to reality. The unexpected shift forced her away from me as we both fought to say upright. _Fuck. _The doors opened and there was the handyman grinning at us both. My blush said it all. A wave of people rushed in and I lost sight of the brunette as she raced away. _No! _ Of all the bad timing, that was the worst I'd ever encountered.

"Happy New…" She paused checking herself even as she fled. "Goodbye!" I wanted to call after her. Stop her from leaving, or at least stall her for long enough to say goodbye properly, but the Handyman was in my face, leering at me. I glared at him and when I looked back she was gone.

"Were you two…?" The guy whispered to me as he held the grille open. I glowered at him in response. "You might as well tell me, I'll just check the video." He retorted with a lecherous wink.

I pushed my way past him, back into the lift, meaning to retreat to the safety of my apartment, knowing that technology wouldn't fail me again so soon. Suddenly, amongst the debris of the decorations I spotted the familiar bracelet. It must have fallen off. I picked it up. My mind was made up and my plans for a simple New Year's Eve abandoned. After all, I already knew where she would be. It couldn't be too hard to track her down. Sure enough, I did find her with relative ease that surprised even me.

"Hey 5B!" I called. My hand outstretched holding the bracelet. "I thought this might be lucky."

She took it gratefully in a way that indicated that not all assumptions were bad. "Thanks, but how did you get back here?"

"I told them I was another backing singer."

She smiled. "You came all this way to bring me my bracelet."

"And to say, Happy New Year." I responded slightly bashfully.

"Happy New Year, Quinn."

I shivered at the way my name rolled off her tongue. I tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear, eager to touch her. "You also left something else on the elevator." I whispered. Before she could reply I had pulled her into a kiss. It was everything I had imagined. She kissed me back with a surprising degree of fierceness and I felt myself smiling.

"Nice Pyjamas." She declared tugging playfully at my top. I looked down. I'd forgotten that I was still wearing my 'outfit' from earlier.

"I should go." I responded. She clasped my hand and pulled me back.

"Stay and watch."

I pretended to consider for a moment, toying with her, before I eventually nodded. "I will be your groupie." I declared, the sound of her laughter filling my ears as we parted ways.


End file.
